Book #28 HMS Surprise *Audiobook*

I seem to have flown through this latest audiobook, it's only been 5 books since the last one finished... either I'm reading slower, or I'm listening more! I'm enjoying the Aubrey & Maturin novels on audiobook, and HMS Surprise is no exception

As in the last book, Post Captain, HMS Surprise picks up soon after the events of the previous. A successful capture leads Jack to the hope that his debts will finally be wiped out with a huge prize payout... however nothing is simple, and the best laid plans means that he does not receive the amount of money expected.

Stephen is dispatched on another intelligence mission to Spain, however is captured and tortured in Mahon. Thankfully, Jack arrives in time to rescue him, and they return back to England. Upon their arrival, Jack is taken by bailiffs for his debts, and held in a debtors prison, whilst Steven attempts to convalesce. During this convalescence, Stephen passes on news of Jack's predicament to the Navy's head of intelligence, who gives Jack and Stephen a new command and assignment to ferry an ambassador across the world to India.

The journey across the world is of course eventful, with little progress, trips into the amazon, horrific storms, and Stephen almost going missing. However the ship limps into Bombay to refit after the horrendous storms. Stephen meets an old friend, with a proposition he hopes will have an answer to.

Long story short, there's a bit of a fight later on in the book, as Jack dresses the East India Company's China fleet as men of war, distributing his officers throughout, and engages a French squadron led by the captain who captured him at the end of Master and Commander. Jack manages to defeat the French squadron, and has to return to India for a refit.

Here, Stephen almost loses his life as he fights a duel against an old 'friend'. In a sense of irony, Stephen intends to wound, but kill, whilst his opponent sets out to kill, but only wounds! Jack lands as a hero amongst the merchants for throwing the French fleet scurrying with its tail between his legs, and he is allowed to transport jewels as freight back to England, whereby he will receive a good prize, thus clearing his debts.

The pace of this book was great, I didn't find it dragged at all, given how long the voyage is, how long a time period it is set over (some 18 months I believe), the pace was just right. It didn't seem rushed at all, and the story really did flow well.

As per the last book, O'Brian's characters were brilliant, with both Jack and Stephen's characters growing even more. Stephen's fascination with strange creatures, but also his role as an intelligence agent makes him incredibly intriguing. He and Jack compliment each other very well, as whilst Stephen is relatively quiet and reserved, Jack is loud, brash and forthcoming. The bond between the two grows stronger and stronger with each book, and I can't wait to see where it goes.

Thankfully, less of this novel is spent dallying around on land (although I do miss the bear), and the depictions of life at sea are, once again brilliant. I would hate to have been a sailor around Cape Horn, that's for sure! When they do make landfall in India, the descriptions of the subcontinent are vivid and colourful. O'Brian truly is a master of the description.

Onto the next audiobook, to see where Jack and Stephen will go next!

HMS Surprise: 3.5cm

Total read so far: 28 Books, 84cm

Total left to read: 109cm